Concrete block machine



April 19, 9 M. DAVIES ETAL 2,706,320

CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Origmal Filed Dec. 6, 1948 IN V EN TORS Miles Dc! vies By Fred ei'h CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Miles Davies and Fred Neth, Vancouver, Wash., assignors to Fred Neth, doing business as Columbia Machine Works, Vancouver, Wash.

Original application December 6, 1948, Serial No. 63,812. Divided and this application May 5, 1951, Serial No. 224,771

3 Claims. (Cl. -41) Our invention relates to the art of concrete block making, and has particular relation to a novel machine in which controlled vibration and compression are utilized to produce concrete blocks of uniform density and superior strength.

A further object of our invention is to provide a concrete block forming machine in which complete ejection of blocks from the mold maybe effected during vibration of the latter. Vibration of the mold during ejection of the blocks provides a trowling action upon the sides of said blocks whereby a smoother finish is obtained.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a mechanism by which the mold holding a block being formed may be subjected to pure vertical motion so there will be no circulatory flow of said cementitious material while said block is being compacted and formed or, on the other hand, may be subjected to vertical and lateral motion so there will be circulatory flow, the choice between these types of motion being under the control of the operator of the mechanism.

This application is a division from our co-pending application for patent entitled Method of and Machine for Making Concrete Blocks, filed December 6, 1948, and bearing Serial No. 63,812, now Patent 2,589,115.

The above objects and advantages of our invention will appear in connection with a detailed description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevation of a vibrator mechanism and associated devices shown mounted upon a portion of a frame of a block making machine;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of said mechanism, as viewed from the left in Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view as viewed in the direction of the arrow 3 in Fig. 2, showing details of construction of the adjustment means by which controlled vibration of the mold may be varied in amplitude and direction.

A concrete block making machine for which our invention is adapted is disclosed in detail in our co-pending application for patent Serial No. 63,812, entitled Method of and Machine for Making Concrete Blocks, now Patent 2,589,115, and reference is had to the disclosure in said application with regard to the charging, transporting, and ejection devices with which our present invention operates.

Suffice it to say that such a machine receives a large quantity of premixed material from a hopper and mechanism periodically fills a concrete block mold 1. Said mold is mounted upon and is actuated by vibrator means with which our present invention is particularly concerned. Said mold comprises a rectangular box, open at the top and bottom. Said mold is of conventional construction and may be designed to form one or more desired blocks of selected configuration. Said mold is filled by a carrier box (not shown) which moves periodically over the mold and fills it with a predetermined quantity of mixture. The concrete mixture preferably has insufficient water to form a wet mix, and said intermixture is thus referred to as being in a dry state. Thus, considerable pressure is required to cause the particles to cohere. It is thus desirable that the mold box be vibrated while said materials flow into said mold box and to continue to vibrate until the intermixture flows into all of the portions thereof, to completely fill them, and form a complete block or pair of blocks, depending upon the size and shape of the mold. The vibrating mechanism with which our invention is concerned continues to operate rapidly,

I and vibration is continued while a plunger pushes the formed fresh block or blocks from the bottom of the mold to discharge them upon a pallet. Vibratory motion is essential to produce uniform settling and distribution of the concrete material throughout the bore of the mold and to make a homogeneous product which is solidified by said vibration and faithfully portrays all the details of the inner chamber or bore of said mold.

it has been found desirable in many instances of opera-' tion of a vibrating mechanism with which our invention is concerned, to continue vibration during the full extraction of the blocks from the bottom of the mold. Due to the fact that the plunger, in stripping the formed blocks from the mold box, moves along a path at right angles to the open top and bottom thereof, it is desirable that the sides of the box be maintained in lines parallel with the movement of the stripper head or plunger. The strokes of the vibrator are relatively short with respect to the depth of the mold box, and thus, as the plunger moves the formed blocks from the mold, there is a multiplicity of short vibrating strokes given to the mold box which produces a troweling action upon the sides of the blocks thus formed and as they are stripped from the mold box. The production of vibration in the mold while it isthus stripped tends to prevent the breaking of corners of blocks because there is no large portion of the external faces of the blocks which tend to hold up and adhere to the inner wall surfaces of the mold box while it is thus being discharged.

The foregoing is suflicient to provide a sufficient setting for the details of the invention with which this application is particularly concerned.

A block mold 1 is supported upon the upper ends of vibrator rods 2, one lying at each side of the mold box.

guide members 8 are proportioned and arranged loosely to guide the slides 3 as the latter move vertically. Adustment bars 9 are secured pivotally at their forward a ends to said guide members 8 and at their rearward ends tobrackets 10 mounted upon the frame ll of the machine, these bars serving to restrain lateral movement of the guide members 8.

Adjustment screws 12 are secured pivotally to the adjustment bars 9 intermediate the ends of the latter. These screws extend downwardly through flanged brackets 1-3,-

secured to the frame members 11. Adjustment nuts '14 are threaded upon said screws 12 on opposite sides of the brackets 13 to provide convenient means for varying the vertical position of the guide members 8 with respect to the slides 3 and the pins 5.

Brackets 4 are secured to the side walls of the mold 1 by bolts 6 and the rearward ends thereof are offset outwardly away from the sides of the mold 1 (see Fig. 3). Spaced parallel links 15 are secured pivotally at one of their ends to said brackets 4 and at their rearward ends to triangular plates 16. A second pair of spaced parallel links 17 are secured pivotally at one of their ends to said triangular plate 16 at right angles to the connection of links 15. The lower ends of links 17 are secured pivotally to brackets 18 mounted upon the frame member 11. The arrangement of parallel links 15 and 17, respectively, function to prevent rotation of the mold 1 about a horizontal axis, for the reasons previously referred to. The lower ends of the vibrator rods 2 are joined to a driven shaft 19 through eccentric cams 20. The driven shaft 19 carries pulleys 21 thereon and these engage drive belts 22 leading to power means (not shown).

In function, the parallel links 15 and 17 control the tipping or tilting motion of the mold. That is to say, they retain the side walls of the mold in a vertical disposition at all times. The magnitude and direction of the elliptical or circular movement of the mold is made variable by adjusting the position of the guide members 8 relative to the pivot axis defined by pins 5 of the mold. Thus, when guide members 8 are positioned above the Patented Apr. 19, 1955- pins-'5', the mold is free to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. .1 (except as th parallel links 15 and 17 inhibit tipping), while the direction is reversed when the guide members are. arranged below the vertical plane of said. pins. It is thus; evident that only. vertical motion results. when the guide members 8 lie in coincidence with the. pivot axis extending through the pins 5 for said mold.

The devices producing such vibratory action upon the mold box 1 may be incorporated in machines having automatic operation or may be incorporated in machines having semiautomatic or manual operation. The adjustment of the. guide member 8 with regard to the point of joinder of the vibrating rods with the mold. box provid'esa simple. and efiicient control to the amplitude, direction and degree of vibration given to the mold with corresponding changes and advantages in solidifying the mix within the mold, the discharge therefrom, and the finishing and surfacingthercof as the formed blocks are discharged from said mold.

In operation, the pulleys 21 are rotated by the drive belt 22? to actuate the eccentric cams 20. Rotation of these eccentric cams, in turn, imparts an elliptical or circular movement to the vibrator rods 2. Further, since the slides 3 are. arranged upon the upper ends of the vi: brator rods 2, elliptical movement is imparted thereto except asv the slides are restrained by the guides 8. Thus, the V-shaped grooves 7, which grooves fit somewhat loosely with the guide. members 8, inhibit lateral movement of the slides 3.- However, as shown in Fig. 2, the pins 5 which carry the mold box 1 are journalled in the slides 3 at a point below the engagement of the guides 8' with the slides. Because of this arrangement, an elliptical movement is imparted to the mold 1 and this movement follows a path in which the major axis of the ellipse is disposed in a vertical direction. On and of itself, such an elliptical mold box vibration is not novel. However, it also will be remembered that the spaced parallel links 15. and 17 are secured, by means of the bracket 4, to the moldbox 1 in order to prevent tilting or tipping thereof. Accordingly, while the mold. box itself defines a restricted elliptical or circular vibrational path, the side. walls of the mold box are maintained in a vertical disposition by the parallel links 15 and 17. In this manner, ejection ofv a finished concrete block from the moldis facilitated since such ejection conventionally pro ceeds in a vertical direction and the side walls of the mold are maintained parallel to the vertical direction of ejection.

To change the type of vibrational motion which is imparted to the mold I, the screws 12 may be adjusted so as to vary the position of the guide members 8 relative to the axis of thepins 5. When the guides are directly opposite the pins, 21 pure vertical motion is imparted to the mold. When the. guides are. above thepins .(as. shown in Fig. 2), that portion of each slide 3 and rod 2 which bination of a frame, a driven shaft mounted on said frame, power means for driving said shaft, spaced vibrator rods mounted eccentrically at the ends of said drivenshaft, a slide member carried by each said vibrator rod, a mold suspended pivotally between said slide members, vertical guide member means mounted upon said frame and operatively engaging said slide members, a bar pivotally interconnecting-each guide and said frame, and link means interconnecting said'mold and said frame to prevent tipping of said mold.

2. In' combination with the frame of a machine for making a concrete block, laterally spacedvibrator rod s,.

eccentric cam and motor means mounted upon said frame and connected to corresponding first: ends ofsaid vibrator rods to move the rods withan eccentric circular motion in both a vertical and a lateral direction, laterally spaced slide members carried upon correspond.

ing second ends of said vibrator rods and pivotally carrying a mold box therebetween, a guide means fixed against movementv and loosely gripping each slide mem-. her intermediatethe ends thereof to constrain" the same to substantially vertical movement, and a parallel link means joined to said mold and to said frame to inhibit.

tipping of the mold during vibration.

3. A machine for making a concrete block, comprising a frame member, a pair of elongated bars secured adjustably to spaced points upon said frame, each bar carryingv a guide member adjacent the end thereof, laterally spaced vertical vibrator rods; carrying slide mem-..

bers upon the upper endsthereofleach said guide member loosely and siidably accommodating one of said slide members torestrict the movementof the latter relative; to the former to a substantially vertical path, dr ve means:

mounted upon said frame and engaging'the lower endof each vibrator rod to move the latter in an elliptical path, a mold box suspended pivotally between said slide members, and spaced parallel link means secured pivotally to spaced points upon said mold box to prevent tipping thereof during actuation of said drive means, said link means including a double parallelogram arrangement of a first pair of links.

References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Akers Mar. 16, 1943 Nelson et a1. Mar. .4, 1952 

